India-Bangladesh relations.
- Thread starter Gautam
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2 BSF jawans attacked, weapons snatched at India-Bangladesh border
The incident happened near the Nirmalchar border outpost in Ranitala police station area when two jawans of the 35th battalion were patrolling.
Construction of Japan funded and India supported Deep Sea Port "Matarbari" in Chittagong, Bangladesh is in full swing now This provides huge access to NE India to export to the world
Bangladesh okays India’s use of 2 ports to transport goods to the northeast
Chattogram is Bangladesh’s main port and handles more than 90% of the country’s foreign trade while Mongla is the country’s second largest sea port on the Bay of Bengal
India hands over 20 broad gauge locomotives to Bangladesh
As part of further strengthening bilateral ties, India today (May 23) virtually handed over 20 Broad Gauge (BG) diesel locomotives to Bangladesh.Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually joined the handing over ceremony from Rail Bhaban in New Delhi this afternoon while his Bangladeshi counterpart Nurul Islam Sujan from Bangladesh end.
The event was also attended by Chairman and CEO of Indian Railway Board A.K.Lahoti, other board members, senior officials of Railway Board and delegates of Bangladesh.
The handing over of these diesel locomotives, under grant assistance from the government of India, fulfills an important commitment made during the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India, in October 2019.
In line with the requirements of Bangladesh Railway, the locomotives have been suitably modified by the Indian side. These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh, Indian railway sources said.
Speaking on this occasion, Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India's relationship with Bangladesh is civilizational, cultural, social and economic.
"Prime Ministers of both the countries are playing proactive role to improve bilateral relationship across social, economic and political sectors," he added.
He said the Indian Railways are playing a vital role in improving and strengthening rail connectivity across the border and improving trade between both the countries.
"As of now, five BG connectivity are operational, namely Geda- Darsana, Benapol- Petrapol, Singhabad- Rohanpur, Radhikapur- Birol and Haldibari-Chilahati," he said, adding that work on two more cross border rail connectivity -- Akhaura-Agartala and Mahihasan-Shahbazpur -- are progressing well and are likely to be completed and commissioned shortly.
Addressing the gathering virtually Bangladesh Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan expressed gratitude to the Indian government for their support saying the supply of locomotives will help improve both goods and passenger trains in Bangladesh.
He hoped that existing collaboration between two countries regarding Railways sector will increase day by day. Previously in June 2020 Indian government provided 10 locomotives to Bangladesh as grant.
Three pairs of passenger trains are currently running between India and Bangladesh to enhance people to people contact. They are Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express and New Jalpaiguri- Dhaka Mitali Express.
According to Indian official sources, trade between both the countries via rail have seen consistent growth with the interchange of nearly 100 cargo trains per month and approximately 2.66 MT cargo was sent to Bangladesh in the last financial year.
The export commodities are- stone, DOC, food grains, China clay, Gypsum, Maize, Onion and other essential items, as and when required, from India.
Since 2020 permission has been given to operate parcel container and NMG rakes which normally carry agricultural products, fabrics, finished goods, light commercial vehicles and tractors.
A new traffic of geo-synthetic bags has just started and 3 Parcel trains have been sent from Gujarat, sources said.
According to sources, India, in line with its commitment to improve Rail service in Bangladesh, has handed over 10 BG Diesel locomotives to Bangladesh on grant basis in July 2020.
India hands over 20 broad gauge locomotives to Bangladesh
As part of further strengthening bilateral ties, India today (May 23) virtually handed over 20 Broad Gauge (BG) diesel locomotives to Bangladesh. Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually joined the handing over ceremony from Rail Bhaban in New Delhi this afternoon while his Bangladeshi c
India, Bangladesh plan to set up 16 border haats to increase trade
The new border haats, whose establishment is currently under discussion, will be located in Mizoram and West Bengal.
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Bangladesh is building memorial to honour Indian heroes of 1971 war
A memorial to honour the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 at Ashuganj in Bangladesh is in the advanced stages of completion. It will have the names of around 1,600 Indian soldiers inscribed on it. It is expected to be ready by December and the effort is to have it inaugurated by Prime Minister of the two Prime Ministers in March or April, said A.K.M. Mozammel Haque, Bangladeshi Minister for Liberation War Affairs.
This will be the first memorial in Bangladesh to exclusively honour Indian soldiers from the 1971 war. The foundation stone for the memorial at Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in March 2021.
“The foundation for the monument was laid by the two Prime Ministers. The idea is by December it will be finished. All the names of the Indian soldiers martyred will be engraved so that everybody can know who are these people who sacrificed for our emancipation, for our liberation,” Mr. Haque said speaking on the sidelines of an event at the Bangladeshi High Commission on Thursday.
We will try to invite both the Prime Ministers, he said noting there are elections in both countries. “That is why we are thinking by March or April we will try to inaugurate it, by both the Prime Ministers,” he stated.
Major Chandrakant Singh, VrC, a 1971 war veteran and author of several books on the war, the latest on Lt Gen Sagat Singh then 4 Corps Commander, introduced Mr. Haque as the first Bangladeshi who attacked the Pakistan Army in 1971. “I feel happy and proud to have been associated with this project. My battalion 4 Guards captured Ashuganj on December 08, 1971,” he told The Hindu.
Ashuganj is relatively close to India bordering Tripura and can be reached by road from India. The idea was to have it close to the border with India, said Lt Col Quazi Sazzad Ali Zahir, a Bangladeshi war veteran of 1971 and who actively worked on the history project. He said that the memorial in a sprawling complex is intended to spread awareness of the war among the youth and will also have a children’s recreation facility on the premises. Ashuganj had particular significance in the liberation war as Indian forces advanced to Dhaka by crossing the Meghna river.
Mr. Modi visited Bangladesh in March 2021 to join the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh, the birth centenary of the Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. “I salute the brave soldiers of the Indian Army who stood with the brothers and sisters of Bangladesh in Muktijuddo… those who gave their blood in Muktijuddo, sacrificed themselves and played a very big role in realising the dream of independent Bangladesh,” Mr. Modi had said in his address and announced that India will donate military equipment used by the Indian armed forces in the Liberation War for museums in Bangladesh.